Bridge the Gap: Fun Summer Science Ideas!

Summer is a great time to explore science with your child because nature’s all around you and its easy to get outside. So one thing we recommend that you to do is to go on a texture walk! You can walk around and find leaves and bark and explore the texture, and then you can get some crayons and some paper and do a rubbing. Another thing you can do is go on a nature treasure hunt, so you can make a list with your child of things you might find, and if they can write, actually this is great writing practice they can list the things they’re going to find on the treasure hunt and go out and try to find them. When you do, use a magnifying glass to observe them up close.

Summer is great time to observe longer-term science processes such as growth and decomposition since kids are home all summer anyway. If you have a clear container, you can grow plants in it. If you use water instead of soil, it’s a great way to get an up-close view of the roots that are growing. You can also break down things in the clear container. You can put an apple core for example or a banana peel in the clear container with some soil and watch it decompose within several weeks.For those of you who prefer a ready made kit, our compost bin and our hydroponics lab make growing and decomposing plants very simple and there’s no smell.

Taking a trip to the shore or to the beach? You can take a glass mason jar with you, kids can take a scoop and the water in the glass will naturally magnify what they see. Kids can take a closer look and see if they caught any plankton or fish.Another thing you can use is our plankton net. You can use this in the water. It has a jar at the bottom and it will collect plankton. The jar can be sealed and it has magnifying lenses on it. It comes with a chart so you can actually identify the plankton that you’ve caught.
The sea scope is another cool object to take with you to any body of water. You can stay dry while observing underwater life, and it actually as a flashlight on it so you can illuminate the view.

We hope you’ve enjoyed these summer science ideas and that you get out and start exploring!